PHOTO CAPTION - A poor family wait around at Beijing railway station. China faces an uphill battle in trying to lift millions out of poverty. AFP PHOTO

Overseas media reports that China provided North Korea with 20 billion yuan (US$ 2.4 billion) worth of monetary and in-kind assistance. An Epoch Times article in early September revealed that China waived a 950 million dollar US debt borrowed by African countries. Thanks to the overseas media, taxpayers in China have learned for the first time that a considerable proportion of their tax dollars is not benefiting China or its people. Nearly 30 billion yuan was given away by national leaders as a “friendly gesture.”

How much is 30 billion yuan? It’s over 10% of the People’s Liberation Army’s budget, which provides for over 2 million soldiers. This translates to food for 200,000 soldiers. It is the annual operating budget for a city of 10 million people, which means it is large enough to support a national government. Such an enormous amount of money, money that was hard earned on the backs of the Chinese people, is now being used to feed the “Royal Court” of Kim Jong-il and to defend an authoritarian, evil power that bears no direct benefit to the Chinese people. As a citizen, I would as the decision-makers in Beijing to explain the reasoning and wisdom of such assistance.

Perhaps these decision makers have forgotten some statistics. 80 million people in China still live below the poverty line, 625 yuan ($75) a year. These people are extremely impoverished and struggle to put food on the table. They don’t have any social benefits and cannot afford to see the doctor when ill. However, the government is not providing them with any assistance. There are so many people in China who are in dire need, yet why are we giving away 30 billion yuan? Are we back in the colonial days when Chinese people were considered less worthy of help than foreigners?

These figures go undisputed by the government. Nobody has discussed this matter at the annual public meeting of the People’s Congress. The departments of revenue and foreign trade and the auditor’s office have always kept secret the amount of foreign assistance. Don’t we citizens have the right to know how much is given away and what for? Chinese citizens should also be informed whether the money bought food for poor people in North Korea or simply added to the wallets of the North Korean “Royal Family” and corrupt Chinese officials.

The People’s Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the public is informed of government policies. As the highest government structure in China, the People’s Congress also has the responsibility to approve or deny such assistance, to disclose the use of public monies, and to track the implementation of these budget actions. On some level, that’s the sole reason for the people to have a people’s congress. If the People’s Congress fails to do what it should do, then it is not meeting the standard and abusing its power. This is actually much worse than other kind of crime.

To protect our right to information and to ensure that government resources are being used in the right place, as a citizen, I urge the People’s Congress to hold open debates on China’s assistance to foreign countries. Except under extenuating circumstances, China should stop these dubious expenses and focus on using its resources on the benefit of the people.